1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the method and apparatus of collecting, in a highly efficient manner, solar heat and more particularly relates to an apparatus for heating and cooling building structures, large and small.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The tremendous energy output of the sun has been recognized for many years and numerous attempts have been made at harnessing and converting it for useful purposes. The present high cost of energy (fuel oil, natural gas, electricity, to name a few), has focused attention on solar energy as an adjunct to heating systems that employ energy from one of the forementioned. The sun's energy has been successfully converted into electrical energy with solar batteries and similarly the sun's energy has been converted into heating systems by so-called solar stoves, heaters, furnaces and the like. Prior art solar furnaces, however, have been typlified by an extremely large collector plate, heated only on one side, covering large portions of a roof structure. These furnaces also require large storage chamgers, usually in the substructure of the building, where the heat is stored after having been transferred from the collector by a fluid median. The heat in the storage chamber is then circulated through the building by a fluid.
Most of the prior art systems have suffered from two major disadvantages. First, they required a significant amount of capital investment, their savings of conventional energy could only be forecasted to pay back to the investor his investment within ten years or more. Secondly, the solar heaters of the prior art were grossly inefficient, averaging only 20% or less, contributing to the long pay back.
Prior art systems, which not only have been large in size and very expensive to install, have proven to be very inefficient, such inefficiency contributing to their large size. Initially, these systems have not been capable of being easily installed in existing building structures and have been useful only as an auxiliary heating unit to a structure having conventional forced air heating systems.
Typical examples of prior art solar heating systems may be found in the June, 1973 and October, 1973 Popular Mechanics Magazine and in the May, 1973 issue of Popular Science Magazine. In addition and more particularly germane to the solar heating hereinafter described are the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 748,696; 1,003,514; 1,814,897 and 3,964,464.